Food, household chemicals fueled Hungaryʼs retail growth in Q4

BBJ

Tuesday, March 6, 2018, 09:00

Hungarian retail sales on the food, household chemicals and cosmetics market grew by 8.2% in value in the fourth quarter of 2017, year-on-year, which is double the European average, says market researcher Nielsen, cited by business news portal vg.hu.

In the fourth quarter of last year, European average retail sales growth was 4.4% compared to one year before. Hungarian growth was much higher, at 8.2% in the quarter, preceded only by Turkey, according to the "Growth Reporter" quarterly analysis of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector by Nielsen.

In volume, retail sales grew by 3.6% in Hungary in Q4 2017, while the European average was 1.8% year-on-year. In terms of value, the food market in Hungary grew by 8.7%, and the household chemicals market by 7.6%. This was the highest growth in the last two years on both markets.

The strong Q4 growth resulted in a 5.9% full-year growth on the FMCG market in 2017, vg.hu notes, more than double the 2016 growth of 2.8%. The main driver was the food market, which expanded 6.2% last year, compared to 2.3% in 2016. The household chemicals market grew by 4.6%.

The trends were similar on the European market, where the food and household chemicals market grew by 3.1% last year, up from 1.6% in 2016.

According to its website, the Nielsen Growth Reporter compares overall market dynamics (value and unit growth) in the FMCG sector across Europe. It is based on the sales measurement that Nielsen performs in 21 European markets, and covers sales in grocery, hypermarket, supermarket, discount and convenience channels, based on the widest possible basket of product categories.

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